Thursday, December 13, 2007

I think this pattern illustration is so alluring. Look at that bottom left shopping bag. She's wearing a glove to do the grocery shopping. And see the celery poking out? All right, all right, I'll make the bag already!

With linen expensive and difficult to find, I have been experimenting with plain cotton canvas as a lining or interlining to bags. I'm loving it, as it is cheap, has a nice crisp body and a beautiful natural texture and color, and is much easier to sew through than interfacing. It also has vintage cache, as it was the actual suggested material in this project.

Of course I love the buttoning outside pocket for your money and keys (or carfare?) I love that these quotidian items were made with such care. The pocket flap is lined!

In honor of that vintage spirit of making the ordinary beautiful, I lined the straps with crimson velvet. In addition to being beautiful, they also feel very good to hold, if you're not wearing white gloves.

17 comments:

Anita
said...

Hi Anna, just discovered your blog yesterday and am very impressed. I could not be more different from you (I have only 1 child and am not from a religious family) but I feel a connection in the desire to keep a good home. I do paid work like yourself and find the balance quite hard to strike sometimes. Thanks so much for the inspiration.

Love your humor about the gloves. The bags details are truly inspiring, love the triangle overstitch. And your pink dress is gorgeous! Do all those old patterns fit long-waited or is it just that one?Blessings,Leslie

Hobby Lobby currently has velvet ribbon in chocolate brown, scarlet, turquoise, and black. Not a bad selection! After all, red goes with everything, right? I'm thinking they have hot pink too, and that's a neutral also!

In January I will be at Denver Fabrics again where they have velvet ribbon in Every Color Under the Sun!

Anna, what a beautiful bag you have constructed. I'm thinking I need to make one to take to Farmers' Market! Your creativity (in sewing, in mothering, in the photos you provide) is truly an inspiration to live life in beautiful simplicity. Desert Lady

i've been seeing shopping bags a lot lately in blogsphere, i'll have to look into getting some. we go to aldi's, and just reuse their bags (which are very sturdy, we use them over and over) but permanent bags would be so much nicer.

Can you imagine...going out for groceries in a day dress with fitted waist, low heels, and white gloves? Hair done just so, makeup quite right. Okay, so no one ever did, but the pattern illustrations certainly set the scene in my mind's eye!

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Photography

Photography is an important part of life at my house. Photos that appear here are taken by Giles, by the Composer, and by me. Giles is a real, paid photographer, and he uses a Sony Alpha. Most of the photography prior to September 2008 is his. Since then I have done most of the shooting and I use a Konica Minolta. Additionally, the Composer offers me nice shots on occasion, often from his little Canon point and shoot. I've given up trying to note who's done what. Thanks for your interest!